Britannia's Daughters: Women of the British Empire

Published by Pimlico, 1994, softcover, illustrated, 224 pages, index, condition: very good.

In Britannias Daughters, best-selling novelist Joanna Trollope examines the contribution of women in building and sustaining the British Empire. She draws on a vast range of sources, including diaries and letters home. She provides a panoramic picture of the countless women who departed Britain for India, Australia, the Far East, Canada and Africa often in search of opportunities unavailable at home.

Here are penniless pioneers and governors wives, missionaries and p********s, explorers and army nurses. They people this book as they peopled the Empire their astonishing courage and endurance, their remarkable personal stories are vividly and enthrallingly recaptured.

Really interesting broad brush approach, taking account of all kinds of women from all ranks in society. For anyone interested in the subject, a good place to start. Introduced me to many women I hadn't heard of before, but may well follow up from the solid bibliography AND neither dry nor dusty!